Morning Briefing

Haiti's cholera outbreak, which started last October, "was caused by a South Asian strain that contaminated a river where tens of thousands of people wash, bath, drink and play," a report (.pdf) from an independent U.N.-appointed panel said on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. "Although many have blamed the epidemic on U.N. peacekeepers from South Asia working in Haiti, the report issued by the panel declined to point the finger at any single group for the outbreak, saying it was the result of a 'confluence of circumstances'" (5/4).